Santa Claus opens the official Christmas season – watch it live directly from Lapland
Santa Claus gives his much-awaited speech in the annual Christmas opening in his official hometown Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland 19th November. This year you can join the festivities directly from your own sofa!
Christmas opening festivities traditionally start the Christmas season in Finland. Held in Santa's official hometown Rovaniemi in the Arctic Circle, the celebration gathers people from around the world to live the magic of Christmas.
The festivities start with a Christmas carol concert. Jingle bells jingle and elves gambol around when it's time for the beloved Santa Claus to step on stage and hold his annual speech. Elves have whispered that this year Santa would speak about children's rights and the meaning of charity. The speech and warm atmosphere will surely get everyone into the spirit of Christmas.
As Santa cannot fly everyone to Lapland to celebrate this special time of the year with him, he has arranged a possibility to take part in the festivities online. A live broadcast from Arctic Circle starts at 3.30pm Finnish time (UTC +2) on the Visit Rovaniemi Facebook-site (www.facebook.com/VisitRovaniemi.fi) or Livestream on http://visitrovaniemi.fi/watch-live.
Christmas opening launches an all-time winter season in Finnish Lapland
Rovaniemi enjoys exceptional popularity as a winter destination due to its fascinating nature and magical atmosphere. Even more people get to experience it this year, thanks to frequent charter flights and new direct flights from Berlin, London and Zurich. Co-operation with international operators such as Chinese Alitrip has been a significant move in terms of Asian market.
The provision of accommodation services in Rovaniemi is increasingly attractive due to the launch of new resorts such as Arctic Tree House Hotel, Santas Igloos Arctic Circle and Santa Claus Holiday Village extension. You can also find more exciting things to do, as new activities such as Aurora floating, Aurora flights, and nature watching tours have been added to the list of services. A truly breathtaking innovation is a cruise on a world's biggest travel icebreaker on the Swedish side of the border.
The beloved Santa Claus can be visited every day of the year in Santa Claus Village, Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi.
For more details:
Sanna Kärkkäinen, managing director
Visit Rovaniemi
tel. +358 40 576 3414
sanna.karkkainen@visitrovaniemi.fi
Kaisa Heiskari, marketing designer
Visit Rovaniemi
tel. +358 400 479 954
kaisa.heiskari@visitrovaniemi.fi
